With the Seahawks pouncing in back-to-back days on former Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and former Vikings receiver Sidney Rice, it’s possible that the folks in Seattle have confused the latter with Jerry and the former with Joe Montana. Or Steve Young.

The reality is that, during their mutual time in Minnesota, Jackson and Rice never really clicked, even with running back Adrian Peterson pulling a safety to the line of scrimmage on just about every play.

During their four seasons together, Jackson and Rice both started the same game seven times. Rice’s highest production came in 2007 against the Giants, with three catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. In the other games, Rice had two catches for 10 yards against the Falcons in 2007, four for 66 and a touchdown against the Chargers in 2007, two catches for 18 against the Raiders in 2007, two catches for 31 yards and a touchdown against the Packers in 2008, no catches against the Colts in 2008, and five catches for 60 yards against the Giants in 2010.

But Seahawks fans can take some solace in the fact that, when Brett Favre was knocked out early in a 2010 game against the Bills, Jackson and Rice connected for five catches, 105 yards, and two touchdowns.

If they can build on that in 2011, they can become a great one-two punch in the Pacific Northwest. During most of their shared time in Minnesota, however, they simply weren’t.

To be fair, most of those games are from 2007 when T Jack was still inexperienced. I’d expect it to be better in Seattle.

hermanspeewee says:Jul 28, 2011 1:24 AM

And goodbye to Sidney Rice’s career. WR’s go to Seattle to die.

blackfootkiller says:Jul 28, 2011 1:38 AM

Hey Mike…You might have missed it but from what is being said on Seahawks.com, it’s Charlie’s job to start…This is what made me laugh the most when all of the butt hurt Vikings fans were whining about Rice going to the Hawks. They signed Jackson to back up Charlie Whitehurst! Charlie has a cannon, and he CAN hit receivers in stride. Wonder how that will work out when the other teams defense has to decide who to double team; Rice or BMW?
I can’t imagine the Hawks winning a lot of games this year with their defense being what it is. But imagine 2 years from now with a revamped defense, a young, cohesive Oline, and Matt Barkley slinging it all over the field! Wow huh; who’ed of thought?

there goes our chance to win the superbowl for a while. the farve/rice 2009 season is just a memory now. Of course the saints game was forgotten long aho but I miss sidney. Now more seeing him at the maserati dealership in wayzata. Joey and I miss you sid. Both teams need mucho help now.

But Seahawks fans can take some solace in the fact that, when Brett Favre was knocked out early in a 2010 game against the Bills, Jackson and Rice connected for five catches, 105 yards, and two touchdowns.
====================================

Oh yay, they had ONE good game together…against the BILLS…….

seattlenative57 says:Jul 28, 2011 2:49 AM

Hawks will be fine. The rebuilding continues. Most likely TJack is a caretaker until we find our franchise qb, either by draft or trade (less likely). Whomever takes the qb job, Rice improves the offense. Don’t hate on the SeaHawks, they’ll do just fine.

TJack is NOT being brought in to be the QB of the future, that man will be on the roster next year. The Hawks are doing it right, getting younger, building the O-line first, adding a guy in Rice who can be difference maker when that QB arrives, putting a team together through the draft instead of a Redskin style FA feeding frenzy.

Of course, still getting a pass for the horrid lack of talent left on the roster when he was canned is Tim “worst GM in history” Ruskell. (yes, worse than Matt Millen). You suck Timmy(IMHO)

borisbulldog says:Jul 28, 2011 5:37 AM

HaHa!

‘hawks and their “12th” man will find out out that it really is “Sleepless in Seattle” in ’11!

Still absolutely clueless why Seattle upgrades the offensive line and WR and chooses Jackson as QB. They’d probably be favorites again in weak NFC west next season with Hasselbeck and those guys. But I can’t think that with Jackson.

packfannchitown says:Jul 28, 2011 6:57 AM

Maybe their failure to connect was a coaching problem more than a player problem. We’ll see.

dirtdawg55 says:Jul 28, 2011 6:57 AM

The only dangerous combination Jackson will be involved in is “Jackson and starting QB”

jimmysee says:Jul 28, 2011 7:06 AM

Seattle should make a deal with the Bears for Greg Olson — a quality tight end adds another weapon. The price will be cheap.

Here’s the sad reality of T-Jack. In 2009 during a blowout game late in the year, Farve had Sydney over 200 yards and going for a record, it was a blowout, so Farve was out of the game. T-Jack just had to complete an easy 10 yard pass to Rice (who was WIDE open) and Rice had the record. T-Jack overthrew him by about 5 more yards, on a simple out route. The only reason they ran that play was to get Sydney the record. Good Luck Seattle, THANK YOU for taking T-Jack off our hands.🙂

The seahawks have severely downgraded the QB position when that got rid of Hasselbeck.. Neither Whitehurst nor Jackson should ever be a starter in the nfl. Good thing it only takes 7 wins to win the pathetic NFC west, but they’ll have a lot of trouble even getting those wins with these shmucks at QB

“Wonder how that will work out when the other teams defense has to decide who to double team; Rice or BMW?”

Are you effing kidding me? Charlie who? And dont kid yourself…Rice has never been double teamed his entire career! Dude is way to slow! Rice is gonna turn into another TJ Doucheurmomma! Have fun with that!

While I’m not thrilled with Sidney leaving the Vikings… I’m actually ok with it. The man has a lot of potential but he’s simply too injured way too much. He had one good year and that took a HOF QB to get that out of him. Sure if he’s healthy he can light it up but unfortunately in Seattle he’s got Whitehurst and T-Joke as his gunslingers. I don’t see him reviving his 2009 season.

I was willing to resign Sidney but not at the price that he got from Seattle. Hopefully the Vikings have some sort of back up plan (which I’m sure they do) and get another guy that can fill in as the #1 receiver.

I like Sidney and wish him the best but Seattle fans be prepared for the “will he/won’t he play” game week in and week out.

This for Rice was all about money, he got more then any other team would pay him and I think the Seahawks still are mad at the Vikings over Hutchinson. Rice is not thinking about the ring but the money and who can blame him?

yeah, not only did they not hook up that much on the field, they have a fairly enept offensive coordinator whose play calling is similar to middle school football. Its pretty hard to win in the NFL when the defense can easily figure out what you are doing on almost every play….and we definetely had more talent than the seahawks.

trollhammer20 says:Jul 28, 2011 8:08 AM

Hooray, more braindead parroting of “conventional wisdom” on the PFT boards!

Tavaris Jackson will back up Charlie Whitehurst. Period. If Whitehurst tanks or gets hurt, Jackson will see playing time.

You don’t go out and sign a QB you fully expect to be long-term “franchise” material to a two-year deal. Jackson is not The Answer at QB for Seattle, and was never meant to be. He’s simply taking a roster spot on a team that had a need for a backup QB. He fills this spot without costing $7 million a year (as Hasselbeck would have) or costing the team valuable draft picks (as Kolb or Orton would have).

If you’re going to mention the game Favre got knocked out early in and Jackson took over, you should probably mention that Jackson got knocked out of the game against the Chargers when Rice had 66 yards – and oh yea, Adrian Peterson set the single season rushing record that day. I doubt the Vikings were very pass happy.

theytukrjobs says:Jul 28, 2011 8:28 AM

Both players were hurt half the time.

brasho says:Jul 28, 2011 8:35 AM

Yeah, 2007 Rice had yet to emerge as the threat he was in 2009, and Jackson wasn’t even close to being a decent QB.

This is about as newsworthy a post as stating that Matt Ryan and Julio Jones didn’t hook up on a single pass completion ALL last season…Both Jackson and Rice were not particularly good in 2007. You want to know who else Jackson didn’t regularly hook up with in 2007? Kim Kardashian…and the rest of his receivers

tarken10 says:Jul 28, 2011 8:36 AM

You’re kidding, right? The word “great” should never be used in the same sentence with the name Tarvaris Jackson.

To say that he will be “great” in combination with any receiver is laughable.

Tarvaris Jackson is just not starting NFL QB caliber. He never was; he never will be. He has peaked at the 2nd string level.

Just like TJ Housh-whatever, Rice will have used the Vikings in a bidding war to get Seattle to increase their offer. Rice will then fade into oblivion, just like TJ Housh-whatever did.

I agree with the post, and that’s why I don’t understand Rice’s decision to sign with Seattle.

When Jackson was the starter in 2007 (and for a time in 2008), he couldn’t find Rice to save his life. It’s one of the reasons Rice’s performance in 2009 surprised a lot of casual fans. But Favre knew Rice had talent, and put it to use.

So Rice passes up a chance to stay in Minnesota and catch passes from McNabb (who I’ll admit I don’t care for that much) to go to Seattle and catch passes from a couple of career backup QBs? Not smart. It’s not like MN wasn’t prepared to pay Rice a handsome contract.

I understand Seattle wanting Rice, but I don’t understand Rice signing there. Then again, Seattle’s moves at the QB position make even less sense than Rice’s decision.

Nonetheless, losing Rice hurts Minnesota much more than not getting McNabb would have hurt. Now Percy Harvin will see double teams all day long, and AP is back to seeing eight men in the box. Good luck Leslie Frazier; you’re going to need it.

The Seahawks are still trying to get even with the Vikings over the Steve Hutchinson “poison pill” signing. They overpaid Nate Burleson because of that transaction and now they have just overpaid both TJack and Sidney Rice. Can you say vendetta?

Either that or Seattle GM John Schneider, a Minnesota native, has some likings for the Vikings.

now keep in mind how many performance based incentives sidney’s deal has, including the ones triggered by pro bowl nods!

tjack has always had enough trouble even throwing for 200 yards in a game., let alone 300.

chillyp says:Jul 28, 2011 9:17 AM

Sorry to break it to you Seahawk fans, but if T-Jax is a backup, why did they sign him to the same contract as Charlie W?

Last year:
Seattle, meanwhile, has signed Whitehurst to a two-year, $8 million contract, with $2 million more in incentives.

This year:
According to the sources, Jackson’s deal is for $8 million over two years, an indication he was brought in to compete for the starting job.

If TJax is truly just the backup, then why would you sign him for the same amount as Charlie? Doesn’t make sense.

Now what I think I see happening is Seattle using a two prong attack, by packaging some plays for TJax to run in some kind of Wildcat, though I really dont see Bevell calling that cause his play imagination is rather limited, but it would make sense for a reason they brought TJax in. TJax best move was tucking the ball and just running.

I wonder how Rice will come back from that major hip injury? I am sure that is one reason the Vikings didn’t get into a bidding war over Sidney. You would think that the Vikings would know best about where the healing process is at and how it may have implications for him down the road. Besides, this just allows the Vikes to make a major play for Larry Fitzgerald next season when he becomes a free agent. I would much rather have no Rice and less-than-optimal receiving options this year for a crack at Fitz next year. He is far superior to Rice in almost every way and he doesn’t have the worrisome injury history that Sidney has. Rice only played 48 out of a possible 64 games over his four seasons due to injury, so we really only had him for three complete seasons. Maybe he will avoid the injury bug in Seattle, but his history suggests otherwise.

I am a long time Viking fan. Though I like Sidney Rice, I was not to disappointed to see him go. He had a breakout year in 2009, but was really not even a factor the other three years he was with the Vikings. He was a major factor in the downfall of the 2010 season by waiting till just before training camp to get his hip surgery and miss most of the season.

If he was such a coveted FA wide reciever, than why were only 2 teams interested in him. He owes Brett Farve for the contract he recieved and will not be a major factor for Seattle (he will help them, but will not be the answer).

purpleguy says:Jul 28, 2011 10:19 AM

Both Rice and Jackson are good character guys and hard workers. The problem with T-Jack is that he’s injury prone, can’t read defenses or handle traffic in the pocket — the Vikes had to consistently roll him out so he’d only have to read half the field. If he’s a back up to that Jessus-looking dude, then why’d they pay him $4M /year when no-one else was after him?

As to Rice, he’s only played one full season. Word has it that his hip injury is degenerative, which is part of the reason the Vikes were hesitant to pay the big guaranteed dough the Hawks did (I’m sure you’ll hear nothing but fluff following this week’s physical). However, if he’s healthy, and if the Hawks can find a QB that can get him the ball (that QB ain’t on the roster now), he will be a great addition. But that’s alot of “ifs” for $41M/$18M guranteed.

Ever hear of Adrian Peterson?
Percy Harvin? Randy Moss? Hell, even Bernard Berrian calls for a little bit of attention from the defense. And we have a TE.

How would Mike Williams and “Lynch running left” behind two offensive linemen that are not Steve Hutchinson and Bryant McKinnie(who admittedly is inconsistent at best in pass protection, but strong in the running game) be any better than that?

Trust me, Bevell is going to hurt you. Take a look at his coaching history. He’s a joke. He went from Brett Favre’s QB coach(how do you coach a 35 year old QB?) to Childress’ yes-man. The guy’s a joke.

So is Charlie Whitehurst and Tarvaris Jackson, and that very young line of yours won’t give them much time to get the ball to the two jump ball guys you have. Rice and Mike Williams aren’t exactly crisp route runners… they’ll be awesome in the red zone, if the Seahawks ever make it there.

For those of you thinking Charlie is going to actually start you’re only fooling yourselves. He’s a guy that flat out couldn’t beat Billy Volek for the backup quarterback job and had a 60 career preseason rating. He’s king of the 2 and 5 yard passes. The Giants exposed him as a joke of a starting NFL quarterback.

Jackson already knows the system and by simply not being Charlie Whitehurst he has to have much more going on upstairs than Charlie Whitehurst.

Quit making something over Tarvaris’s deal – it’s nearly identical to the one Whitehurst signed last year. Who cares what the team website says. The Eagles team website also implied Rodgers-Cromartie was a member of the team.

The reality is that the quarterback of their future isn’t yet on the roster.

zn0rseman says:Jul 28, 2011 11:38 AM

chatham10 says:
Jul 28, 2011 7:56 AM
This for Rice was all about money, he got more then any other team would pay him and I think the Seahawks still are mad at the Vikings over Hutchinson. Rice is not thinking about the ring but the money and who can blame him?

———————————

That’s exactly what I thought. 41 million is what we got Hutchenson for, and then Seattle tried to get us back by signing Nate Burleson for 41 million. So now that they pissed away that money on a bust, they are trying again with Rice…at 41 million.

I think they’ll get the same results too.

All in all, Seattle is paying out around $50 million for a worthless QB and an injury prone register who had one good year.

indianheadmeatpackingcompany says:Jul 28, 2011 3:05 PM

Seattle, enjoy. He had one good season. He has proven he is all about himself and he has no respect for any of his team. Watch out when he gets injured. He will drag out getting the injury taken care of and will drag out coming back. I, personally, have been praying for him to go to another team. How did Burleson work out for Seattle?

Seattle fans, you are getting a great combination in Tarvaris and Sidney.
As one of the few rational Viking fans on this board, I’ve seen Tarvaris progress when given adequate playing time. In 2008, he closed out the year with 9 TDs to 2 picks and won 3 of the final 4 games to get the Vikings into the playoffs. He’s come of age and will perform well for you.
Sidney is a baller who will mesh nicely with Mike Williams and Butler.
And it should be mentioned that Sidney has caught as many regular-season TDs from Tarvaris as he has Favre, so there’s good and familiar cohesiveness there.
Good luck Seattle. You’ll have a much better team that the front-office ravaged Vikings.

garyandersonsleftfoot says:Aug 1, 2011 3:13 PM

“Now Percy Harvin will see double teams all day long, and AP is back to seeing eight men in the box. Good luck Leslie Frazier; you’re going to need it.”—————————————

LOL. AP hasnt seen a 7 man front in his entire career with the vikings. Having Rice wouldnt change that.